Friday, August 25, 2017

Sunday (9/3) Connection Questions


Paul Elliott on John 16.5-15:  "The mission of the Father is to bring people into relation with Him.  The Holy Spirit is fulfilling this mission as he convicts the world, guides believers, and glorifies Christ."
·        What three things does the Holy Spirit convict the world of?  John 16:8-11  How can your prayers for the lost and presentation of the Gospel capitalize on how the Holy Spirit convicts unbelievers?
Jim Johnston on 2 Timothy 1:1-18 -- “A faithful, obedient Christian has to be prepared to suffer shame for Christ.”
·        We all have times when are tempted to be “ashamed” of Christ and/or the Gospel?  How can the truths in verse 8-12 embolden us?
·        Are Christians “in chains” or suffering for the Gospel in our modern times?  How can we share in other believer’s sufferings for the Gospel? (Check with Open Doors USA, Christian Solidarity Int., or Voice of the Martyrs for ideas.)
Jim Johnston on 2 Timothy 2:1-13 -- "In this passage, Paul gives directions (or coaching tips) on how to run with endurance."
·        (v. 2) Paul admonishes us to commit or entrust “these things” to other faithful men (or people).  2 Timothy2:1-2  What are you doing to entrust what you have learned to others? 
·        How do your possessions and commitments work against enduring hardship for Christ?  What can we focus on that will help us run with endurance and hope?  2 Timothy 2:8-10; Hebrews 11:24-27; Hebrews 12:1-3; James 1: 12; James 5:10-11
Phil Martin on 2 Chronicles 26 -- "A humble grasp of the Lord’s holiness is essential to please Him."
·        Why is prosperity often our greatest weakness?  How do we keep from forgetting the Lord when we are strong?  2 Chronicles 26:16; Deuteronomy 6:10-12; Proverbs 30:7-9; James 4:6-10; 1 Peter 5:5-7

·        What are some attitudes that can work against our hearts becoming “lifted up” (proud)?   Proverbs 12:1; Proverbs 27:5-6; Isaiah 6:1-5; James 1:16-17

Monday, August 21, 2017

John 4.46-5.17 Notes / ONE2ONETHRUJOHN / Carpenter Flock 170827


John 4.46-5.17
Second Sign: Nobleman’s Son / Sheep Gate Pool

STICKY SPOTS
5:4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
(5:3-4) Troubled Waters
The earliest and best manuscripts lack the explanation for the "troubled waters" given in verses 3-4, which was later added by scribes. That's why these verses are omitted from the NRSV. 
(5:4) "Whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had."
Whoever enters a pool after it is stirred up by angels will be cured of "whatsoever disease he had."  (Absurdities, Science and History)
I'm always thrilled by the phrase “best and earliest manuscripts,” especially when Bart D. Ehrman is quoted as the source. And indeed, this entire verse is missing in our modern translations. But not always. Sometimes they put it back, and sometimes they remove it. But the explanation in this verse seems to fit quite well within the paragraph. We already have sources at the end of the second century which quote this verse such as Tatian in 175 AD. And the supposed “oldest” manuscripts are in complete disagreement among themselves.
But an author I've come to respect greatly, argues that at least verse four should indeed not be included:
The fact that people like the impotent man believed in such miracles is obviously the reason for the insertion of the explanatory gloss by some later scribe in verse 4 (and possibly verse 3b too). However, the fact that the wording of verse 4 states, not that the sick people believed that an angel came down, but that an angel actually came down, condemns verse 4 as a corruption of the NT text. Verse 3b is theologically unproblematic, has stronger external evidence and perhaps deserves to be retained, however it too could simply be an explanatory insertion.
Dean Burgon argued for inclusion:
Certain of the Church Fathers attached great importance to this reference to the angel's descent into the pool, attributing to it the highest theological significance. The pool they regarded as a type of baptism and the angel as the precursor of the Holy Spirit. Such was the interpretation which Tertullian (c. 200) gave to this passage. "Having been washed," he writes, “in the water by the angel, we are prepared for the Holy Spirit.” Similarly, Didymus (c 379) states that the pool was "confessedly an image of baptism" and the angel troubling the water “a forerunner of the Holy Spirit.” And the remarks of Chrysostom (c. 390) are to the same effect. These writers, at least, appear firmly convinced that John 5:3b-4 was a genuine portion of the New Testament text. And the fact that Tatian (c. 175) included this reading in his Diatessaron also strengthens the evidence for its genuineness by attesting its antiquity.
Given that God has preserved his word and that this text has been included in all scripture coming from trustworthy sources, these verses must be considered genuine.
NET Bible Textual Criticism Note
 5:3 A great number of sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people were lying in these walkways.  5:4[[EMPTY]] 9 
9 tc The majority of later mss (C3 Θ Ψ 078 Ë1,13 Ï) add the following to 5:3: “waiting for the moving of the water. 5:4 For an angel of the Lord went down and stirred up the water at certain times. Whoever first stepped in after the stirring of the water was healed from whatever disease which he suffered.” Other mss include only v. 3b (AcD 33 lat) or v. 4 (A L it). Few textual scholars today would accept the authenticity of any portion of vv. 3b-4, for they are not found in the earliest and best witnesses (Ì66,75 א B C* T pc co), they include un-Johannine vocabulary and syntax, several of the mss that include the verses mark them as spurious (with an asterisk or obelisk), and because there is a great amount of textual diversity among the witnesses that do include the verses. The present translation follows NA27 in omitting the verse number, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.

5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
"Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."
Jesus believes people are crippled by God as a punishment for sin. He tells a crippled man, after healing him, to "sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."
No text in the Bible says that Jesus believes that all crippled people are crippled because of a particular sin. That it was true in this particular circumstance does not mean Jesus believed it was generally the case. This verse is actually the only verse in the Bible where Jesus makes a link between a particular sin and a particular handicap. And we have far more verses where Jesus says the opposite, that it wasn't a particular sin, see chapter 9:1-3 and Luke 13:1-5.

5:16 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.
(5:16, 18) "Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him."
John, with his usual anti-Semitism, says that the Jews persecuted Jesus and "sought to slay him."
(5:16-17) "Because he had done these things on the sabbath day."
Jesus didn't observe the Sabbath, so I guess we don't have to either.  Is it necessary to keep the Sabbath?
“John with his usual antisemitism” Yeah, let's check: did the Jews persecute Jesus? Check. Did they seek to slay him? Check. Did they slay him? Check. Was John a Jew? Check.
So John is on quite factual grounds here, if that is cause for a charge of antisemitism the word really has no meaning has it? But perhaps the author of the SAB objects to the word “the Jews”. Not all Jews sought to slay him, clearly John himself didn't, nor the other of the disciples. But it is not unusual to mention the whole for a part in the Bible, very usual in fact, see for example chapter 12:19.
On if it is necessary to keep the Sabbath: yes. Even God himself resteth on the seventh day, so a day of rest is set as an example from the very beginning. And of course repeated in the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:8). And Jesus did not come to abolish the law (Matthew 5:17-18).







“Living Lessons from Dead Kings: Uzziah” - 2 Chronicles 26 - 170820AM@TBC

Note:  For some reason, the footnotes were lost.  Anything that is really good is probably a quote.  Here are the primary resources that I used.  There were a few Bible Dictionaries that I read too.
  • Martin J. Selman, 2 Chronicles: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 11, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 
  • NIV Application Commentary 1 & 2 Chronicles by Andrew E. Hill
  • IVP Bible Background Commentary
  • Alfred Edersheim, Bible History: Old Testament, vol. 7 (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1975), 
  • NET Bible Translation Notes
  • Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
  • Thomas Constable's Expository Notes on 2 Chronicles
  • International Standard Bible Encylopedia 1915
  • Web Bible Encyclopedia
  • https://www.biblicaltraining.org/library

“Living Lessons from Dead Kings: Uzziah” - 2 Chronicles 26 - 170820AM@TBC
BIG IDEA: A humble grasp of the Lord’s holiness is essential to please Him.
I. Prelude   (setting)
A. Names:
B. Statistics:
C. Assessment:
Name:  The writer of 2 Kings prefers the name Azariah, apparently a variant of Uzziah.  Perhaps the Chronicler’s preference for Uzziah is a deliberate attempt to avoid confusion with Azariah the priest (2 Chronicles 26:17-20).  --Andrew Hill in the NIVAC (Zondervan)
Uzziah
עֻזִּיָּה ʻUzzîyâh, ooz-zee-yaw'; or עֻזִּיָּהוּ ʻUzzîyâhûw; from H5797 and H3050; strength of Jah; Uzzijah, the name of 5 Israelites:—Uzziah.
Azaiah 1King 15:1-7
עֲזַרְיָה ʻĂzaryâh, az-ar-yaw'; or עֲזַרְיָהוּ ʻĂzaryâhûw; from H5826 and H3050; Jah has helped; Azarjah, the name of 19 Israelites:—Azariah.
Sixteen years old.
               Amaziah, Uzziah’s father, led Judah to battle against Israel. 
Reigned 52 years.
               25 years coregent with his father Amaziah
Mother: Jecholem from Jerusalem.
יְכׇלְיָה Yᵉkolyâh, yek-ol-yaw'; and יְכׇלְיָהוּ Yᵉkolyâhûw; or (2 Chronicles 26:3) יְכִילְיָה Yᵉkîylᵉyâh; from H3201 and H3050; Jah will enable; Jekoljah or Jekiljah, an Israelitess:—Jecholiah, Jecoliah.
Did right according to all that his father had done.
Sought God in the days of Zechariah.
As long as he sought.
Zechariah: not to be confused with the post-exile minor prophet or with the priest during Josiah’s reign.
THE LESSONS
1. The pitfall of comparisons and primacy of the Lord’s standard. (v.4)
1 Corinthians 4:3-4
I. Prosperity   (rising action)
        Made War
        Built Towers
        Large Army
        Made Devices
        Fame
Made War
Since Uzziah was not able to expand north because of the power of Israel under Jeroboam II, he turned his attention to the west and south, subduing people groups that had taken advantage of previously unstable conditions in Judah.
Wresting control of the coastal highway from the Philistines and the recapture of Elath (26:1-2) have significant implication for Judah’s role in international commerce.”  --Andrew Hill in NIVAC
Philistines (Gath, Jabneh, Ashdod) built cities.
Arabians in Gur Baal
Meunites
MEUNIM, MEUNITES (mē-ū'nĭm, mē-ū'nīts, Heb. me‘ûnîm, the people of Maon). The people of an Arab city still existing south of the Dead Sea not far from the more famous Petra. They are listed among the tribes that Uzziah of Judah conquered. Ezra.2.50, repeated in Neh.7.52, speaks of their descendants. The Masoretes say that the word rendered by some versions as “habitations” (1Chr.4.41) should read “Meunim.” Ezra counts them among the Nethinim (temple servants) at the return from exile (Ezra.2.50, kjv Mehunim; in 2Chr.26.7, kjv Mehunims).  https://www.biblicaltraining.org/library/meunites
Ammonites
AMMONITES (ăm'ŏn-īts, Heb. ‘ammônîm). The name given to the descendants of Ben-Ammi or Ammon (Gen.19.38). They were related to the Moabites by ancestry and often appear in Scripture in united effort with them. Because by ancestry they were related to Israel, “children of my people” (see the niv footnote to Gen.19.38), the Israelites were told by the Lord not to enter into battle with them as they journeyed toward the land of Canaan (Deut.2.19). Lot fled from the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and dwelt in the mountains to the east of the Dead Sea. The land God gave the Ammonites stretched to the north as far as the Jabbok River and to the south to the hills of Edom. Many years later the Ammonites made war with Israel in order to extend their borders farther west. Although this land never really belonged to the Ammonites, they claimed it and gave this as a reason for their aggression (Judg.11.13).
Unable to expand westward and not desiring the desert tract of land on the east, the Ammonites were confined to a small area. Although they were a nomadic people, they did have a few cities, their capital Rabbath-Ammon being the most famous.
Because of their sins and especially because they constantly opposed Israel, Ezekiel predicted their complete destruction (Ezek.25.1-Ezek.25.7). Their last stand seems to have been against Judas Maccabeus (1Macc.5.6).——HZC  https://www.biblicaltraining.org/library/ammonites
Built
No doubt, some of the construction is to repair the damage done by King Jehoash of Israel in his assault on Jerusalem (25:23). 
It also seems likely that some of the building activity is related to restoration of destruction caused by the well know earthquake during Uzziah’s reign (cf. Amos 1:1; Zech. 14:5).  --Andrew Hill in NIVAC
        Towers in Jerusalem (Corner Gate, Valley Gate, Corner Butress)
        Towers in the desert
        Dug many wells
        Loved the soil
Had an Army
        To war by companies:  “The organization of the militia into “divisions” (26:11) represents a new development in Israel’s military structure.”  --Andrew Hill in NIVAC
        Jeiel (scribe), Maaseiah (officer), Hananiah (captain)
        2,600 chief officers
        375,000 made war with mighty power to help the king
        Shields spears, helmets, body armor, bows, slings:  Typically, soldiers were required to provide their own weapons and armor, so this was a new development and indication of Uzziah’s strength.
Made Devices
        Invented by skillful men
        To shoot arrows and large stones
Fame
Marvelously helped till…
THE LESSONS
2. The importance of thankfully recognizing God’s blessings. (v. 5)
God made him prosper.”
Psalm 107:8; James 1:16-17
THE LESSONS
3. Prosperity can be our greatest weakness. (v. 16)
Deuteronomy 6:10-12; Proverbs 30:7-9; 2 Corinthians 12:7-9
III. Pride (climax)
A. He was strong
B. His heart was lifted up,
C. He transgressed
“Uzziah’s haughtiness impared his judgement.”  --Andrew Hill in NIVAC
THE LESSONS
4. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (v. 16b)
Proverbs 3:34-35; James 4:6-10; 1 Peter 5:5-7
THE LESSONS
5. Treasure a friend with a wise rebuke. (v. 17-18)
Proverbs 27.5-6
6. “He who hates correction is stupid.” (v. 19)
Proverbs 12:1b; 18:1-2
IV. Punishment (Conclusion)
A. Punished (19b)
B. Isolated/Son rules (21)
C. Buried in Disgrace (23)
THE LESSONS
7. Realization of the Lord’s Holiness. (Isaiah 6:5)
In the year that King Uzziah died…
BIG IDEA:
A humble grasp of the Lord’s holiness is essential to please Him.

Am I contrite and believing or impaired by a haughty heart?

Sunday, August 20, 2017

1 Samuel 8 - 170820AM@TBC - Teaching notes.

Samuel: Priest, Prophet, and Judge  (1-7)
Transition to king  (8)
The Reign of Saul  (9-14)
The decline of Saul and rise of David  (15-31)
David’s Rule of Judah  (1-4)
David’s Rule over all Israel  (4-24)

Read the chapter together in groups of 4-8.
1.     Look for repeated words, phrases that might be important to the meaning.
2.     Look for the elements of plot: Setting, Rising Action, Climax, Resolution

1 Samuel 8 
“Most human beings spend a great deal of their lives trying to find or win or buy or build security for themselves and for those they love. “  --John Woodhouse in PTW
1.  SETTING
Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over IsraelThe name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in BeershebaBut his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.
·       When Samuel grew old—implies that a long time has passed since the last EVENT narrated, the victory over the Philistines in 1 Samuel 7:12.  --David Tsumura in NICOT
·       Since the name designates the personality which should characterize the holder, one might see an irony here.  Samuel's sons did not deserve their good names, Joel and Abijah.  Both containshort forms (yo and yᾱh) of the divine name Yahweh.  The name Joel means “Yahu is God.”  Abijah means “My father is Yah.”

·       Proverbs 17:23 (NKJV)

23 A wicked man accepts a bribe behind the back[a]
To pervert the ways of justice.
·       Beersheba. Beersheba is located at the southern extremity of the land in the northern Negev at Tell es-Seba’ (three miles east of the modern city). Archaeological finds from this period suggest that the site was in transition from being a temporary to a permanent settlement. Some of the first houses were just being built. The population would have been less than two hundred. Therefore this was a very minor appointment.[1]
·        “The best of leaders can have the worst of sons.”  --John Woodhouse in PTW
2a. ELDERS OF ISRAELS’ REQUEST
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramahand said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
·         Keeping in view that there was nothing absolutely wrong in Israel’s desire for a monarchy (Deut 17:14, etc.; comp. even Gen. 17:6, 16; 35:11), nor yet, so far as we can judge, relatively, as concerned the time when this demand was made, the explanation of the difficulty must lie in the motives and the manner rather than in the fact of the “elders,” request. [2]
·       6a  The matter was evil in Samuel’s eyes is a more literal translation than “But the thing displeased Samuel”  (NRAV).  If the passage in Deuteronomy approved of – or at least did not object to – the people’s appointing a king “like the other nations,”  and Samuel himself knew this passage, Samuel’s displeasure would have been at the attitude of the elders who requested a king and the reason for their request, rather than toward the fact that they requested a king.  --David Tsumura in NICOT      (Deuteronomy 17.14-20)
·       Their deliverance was unseen, they wanted it seen; it was only certain to faith, but quite uncertain to them in their state of mind; [3]
·       They have been mistaken in assessing their problem as a political problem and consequently opting for a political solution.[4]
·       A king therefore offered a strong, stable, and predicable center of political authority for a nation that otherwise had to depend on an unseen God to unite them.  --John Woodhouse in PTW

·       The people wanted to become like all the other nations , but God had called them uniquely to be his people, under his especial care.  --David Tsumura in NICOT


2b. SAMUEL PRAYS / GOD SPEAKS
6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the LordAnd the Lord said to Samuel,
Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.  According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also
9 Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”
·       That their proposal amounted to an abandonment of the Lord is indicated by two things.
First, they asked for “a king to judge us.”  Samuel had “judged” the people (1 Samuel 7:15-17), as had numerous judges before him.
The second indication is clearer still.  In proposing that they should have a king to judge them, they were asking for an arrangement “like all the nations.”  --John Woodhouse in PTW
·       The proposal was anticipated centuries earlier in the laws given by Moses in Deuteronomy 17.
·       8:6 But instead of making an immediate reply, Samuel referred the matter to the Lord in prayer. The view which Samuel had taken was fully confirmed by the Lord, Who declared it a rejection of Himself, similar to that of their fathers when they forsook Him and served other gods. Still[5]
·       The innovation proposed by the elders was a rejection of God’s ways and an attempt to find security elsewhere.  Therefore is was “evil in the eyes of Samuel. --John Woodhouse in PTW
·       The Lord’s response was full of surprises.
The first surprise is the puzzle.  Samuel was told by the Lord to “Obey [or listen to] the voice of the people.
The second surprise is the radical interpretation that the Lord put on the proposed leadership change in Israel.  …they had rejected God from being king over them.
The third surprise … It is becoming clear that the Lord’s willingness to grant the people their request was an act of judgment on their foolish and faithless request.
The desire to be from God’s good rule is punished by the experience of being given up to godless ways (cf. 1:24, 26, 28). --John Woodhouse in PTW
·       Israel’s situation is full of instruction
1. We have a tendency to assess our problems mechanically rather than spiritually.
2. …we are more interested in prescribing what form God’s help must take.  Our attentions in not on God’s deliverance in our troubles but on specifying the method by which He must bring that deliverance.
3.  God’s granting our request may not be a sign of His favor but of our obstinacy.  --Dale Davis in I Samuel: Looking on the Heart
·       Because some of our idolatry is so sophisticated and appears so reasonable, it can be extremely difficult to detect.  --Dale Davis in I Samuel: Looking oon the Heart
·       “What we have here is simply the old idolatry with a new twist.”  --Dale Davis in I Samuel: Looking oon the Heart
·       So the fault (1 Sam. 8) was not in the fact of the request but in the motive for the request.
·       But Israel and the rest of us prefer to keep in step with our culture and fit into the molds of our society.  Who wants to stand out in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.” --Dale Davis in I Samuel: Looking oon the Heart
·                 “I cannot help thinking of some proposals that come forward today to make the church more efficient, strong, and effective.  The proven experience of the world of business management offers methods that have made other organizations strong and growing.  If only the churches would implement some of the strategies of the business schools or recruit leaders ike some of the successful companies, the churches could make an impact!  They could expand their market share!  I wonder whether you can hear a faint echo of the elders of Israel:  “Give us a king … like the nations.” ----John Woodhouse in PTW

2c. SAMUEL SPEAKS TO PEOPLE
10  So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king11 And he said,
This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you:
·        He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. 
·        12 He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 
·        13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 
·        14 And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. 
·        15 He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. 
·        16 And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 
·        17 He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. 
18 And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.”
·       The ways of the king (cf. v. 9) could be translated ‘the justice of the king’ (Hebmišpāṭ has both meanings). There could be an element of satire in the wordplay, especially in the light of what follows.[6]
·       They believed a king would give them such things as security, stability, and success; Samuel warned them that kings were much more likely to take than to give. (Notice how often the verb take occurs in vs 11–17.)[7]
·       8:12. working the king’s fields. Once an administration is set up, certain lands become royal lands (2 Chron 26:10). Land can become forfeit to the throne as a result of criminal activity, or land can come to the throne through lack of heirs to inherit ancestral property. This land would be farmed to provide food for the administration as well as to supply stockpiles against emergency. Those who work the land may be forced laborers (in a form of taxation), slaves from foreign peoples or debt slaves who have no other way to recover from losses.[8]
·       8:13  Perfumers performed a number of different duties at the court. The king’s garments were regularly perfumed, and spices were burnt in order to maintain a pleasing aroma around the palace. Additionally, some spices were recognized as having medicinal value, in which case the perfumer might be performing the task of pharmacist. Assyrian texts and Egyptian tomb paintings both portray elaborate procedures for preparing these spices and ointments.[9]
·       8:17. tithe of grain and flocks as taxes. In Ugaritic literature, the tithe is a fixed payment to the king made by each town and village. In earlier biblical passages the tithe was treated as something due the priesthood and the sanctuary. Here the tithe describes royal taxation.[10]
·        … God gives her [Israel] instruction but she is not teachable.”  --Dale Davis in I Samuel: Looking on the Heart
·        Verse 18, “and you will cry out” is reminiscent of Proverbs 1.28-31.
Proverbs 1:28-31 (NKJV)28 “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.
29 Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the Lord,
30 They would have none of my counsel
And despised my every rebuke.
31 Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way,
And be filled to the full with their own fancies.

3. PEOPLE RESPOND
19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

4. RESOLUTION
21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the Lord. 22 So the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed their voice, and make them a king.”  And Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Every man go to his city.”
·       The drama is at a point of tension.  What will happen next?  --David Tsumura in NICOT
Application Questions:
·        Is there is always a temptation for us to avoid being different – even different for God? 
·        Can you think of times when God has said ‘No!’ to your prayers and you have discovered afterwards what a good answer that was?  --Dale Davis in I Samuel: Looking on the Heart
·        
·       “Jesus is a king who does not take, he gives.”  ----John Woodhouse in PTW



[1] Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas, and John H. Walton, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, electronic ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 1 Sa 8:2.
[2] Alfred Edersheim, Bible History: Old Testament, vol. 4 (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1975), 33–34.
[3] Alfred Edersheim, Bible History: Old Testament, vol. 4 (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1975), 34.
[4] Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas, and John H. Walton, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, electronic ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 1 Sa 8:6.
[5] Alfred Edersheim, Bible History: Old Testament, vol. 4 (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1975), 33.
[6] Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 8, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 92.
[7] David F. Payne, “1 and 2 Samuel,” in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. D. A. Carson et al., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 305.
[8] Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas, and John H. Walton, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, electronic ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 1 Sa 8:12.
[9] Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas, and John H. Walton, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, electronic ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 1 Sa 8:13.
[10] Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas, and John H. Walton, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, electronic ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 1 Sa 8: